A Neapolitan 'miracle' Sunday 27 July, 2008 Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis and general manager Pierpaolo Marino are amazed how quickly the club has gone from Serie C to the UEFA Cup.
"I never think negative and always look at the positive side," said the patron after their 2-0 aggregate victory over Panionios in the Intertoto Cup last night. "We could not lost tonight. The team poured everything it had on to that pitch so it would not disappoint over 60,000 fans who flocked to the San Paolo and the other millions supporting us all over the world. "There was too much desire from everyone to get back into Europe and that hunger could not be denied." The second preliminary round on August 14 and 28 will be Napoli's first UEFA Cup ties in 14 years. It was made possible by Mariano Bogliacino's goal in Athens and Marek Hamsik's strike to secure a 1-0 victory in Naples. "I am very happy for Hamsik and everything he is doing at Napoli. It was a good way for him to celebrate his 21st birthday! I was also very impressed with Inacio Pià, who shook up the game with his energy. "It's a shame about Bogliacino's injury and we hope it is nothing serious, as he is an important figure for us." The Napoli success story has been extraordinary, as the club went bankrupt in 2004 and had to start again from the third tier of Italian football under new owner De Laurentiis. "Just think, two years and two months ago we were in Serie C," mused director Marino. "I consider this qualification an extraordinary achievement that seems like a miracle if we look at where this journey started. "It has been possible thanks to the hard work of all the players who have worn the shirt in these years. Ours was a kamikaze mission, but we did it. I don't want to go to sleep in case it all turns out to be a wonderful dream." -- Cavaliere AC Milan atau tidak sama sekal! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
